Family Matters
by DietCokeJunkie
Summary: Sequel to Letters. House learns the impact family can have on your life.
1. Chapter 1

**I'm back! I started writing this sequel pretty much as soon as I finished the first one but then life has been so crazy and I had no time to finish it. I kind of wanted to have all the chapters written before I publish this but then that might take a really long time. I'm hoping this will motivate me if people are reading this one. This is obviously a sequel to my other story, Letters. You probably want to read that one first as the characters and some of the things from that one will appear in this one. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it and please review. Oh and the usual disclaimer: House isn't mine. But all original characters are and they are awesome even if I do say so myself.**

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><p>Anna closed her book and placed it on the table as she heard a car pull into the drive. She rubbed a hand across her eyes and glanced at the clock to see that it read 01:43.<p>

"Hey," House said softly behind her, causing Anna to jump slightly. She'd not even heard him enter the house, let alone come up behind her.

House rarely used his cane when he was at home. He had always used it to disguise some of his limp and to help him when the pain was really bad. But at home he didn't need to do that. Home was where his family was and they didn't care about his limp. His children had only ever known their dad this way and considered it part of the package; a package they greatly treasured.

"Hey yourself," Anna smiled, leaning into him as he settled himself on the couch next to her and instinctively wrapped his arms around her.

"You didn't need to wait up," he said softly.

"I'm not in until 12 so thought I may as well," she shrugged.

It was the same conversation every time he had to work late. He always told her she didn't have to wait up and she always made up some reason as to why she did. Both knew the truth though. House knew that Anna would constantly wake up in the night if he wasn't lying in bed next to her and Anna knew that House often needed her when he came home after a particularly difficult case.

"How's your case?" Anna asked after they'd sat in silence for awhile and he had started drawing patterns on her stomach with his fingers.

"It's solved: rabies."

Anna bit her lip. She'd been with House long enough to learn his tells and find out what he wasn't tell her. She'd discovered how he'd fiddle with something when he was deep in thought or play with her fingers or, more recently, draw patterns on her stomach. She'd also learnt that when he said something about the case but left out the patient, it wasn't good.

"I'm sorry."

"Why? I solved the case," House replied dismissively.

"Greg," Anna sighed, putting her hands on top of his to stop his drawing and turning her head to look him in the eye. "I'm sorry."

House closed his eyes briefly and nodded, turning his hands over to take hers in his. They stayed like this for awhile, both revelling in the comfort of each other's arms.

Just 6 years ago, they were on opposite sides of the world and would never have dreamed that they'd end up here. House would never have imagined himself as a family man and Anna would never have imagined herself putting down roots. But here they were.

Both had stable jobs with House continuing as the snarky head of diagnostics, irritating everyone with both his brilliance and his attitude, and Anna returning to the hospital after her maternity leave but part-time in the hospital's daycare, easily impressing those around her with her natural skill working with children and people in general. They'd bought a house 5 years previous which neither had thought would happen since House had always preferred his bachelor apartment and Anna drifted from hotels to barracks. And that was without mentioning the main thing neither would have expected: their children.

Zachary James House was the spitting image of his father at that age, with the same icy blue eyes and brown hair. His sister, Lillian Casey House, looked just like her mother with her piercing green eyes and red hair. Yet despite the obvious alliance with one parent's appearance, both children were a good blend of both their parents.

Lily had developed meningitis when she was 3 years old and it had resulted in her becoming deaf. She remained the same talkative little girl she'd been before the illness, still chatting away to everyone she met and many people failed to notice she was deaf if they didn't know due to her speech therapy and ability to read lips. It was only when they started talking fast to match her speed or when they turned away from her and she couldn't follow their lips that they realised. Her parents had made sure she knew that her deafness didn't change anything and she could still do whatever she wanted. She had House's stubbornness and often his bluntness too but it was never to the same extent, sharing Anna's intuitive nature of other people's feelings along with her mother's energetic passion.

Zach was quite different to his sister in many aspects. He, like his father, often preferred his own company and didn't like socialising unless forced to. Very often he used the sign language he'd learnt for his sister to his advantage, pretending he was deaf to avoid having to talk to people. He had taken an interest in his father's piano from a young age, something House loved, especially since Lily had only ever used the piano to bang the keys for attention. Music was a great love of his as was reading, much to his mother's joy, as both were solitary activities to Zach. But as many characteristics of House as he had, Zach was a lot like Anna too. He had the same fierce loyalty and protectiveness of his mother, particularly towards Lily and even more so after her meningitis.

And now House and Anna were expecting their third child. Like the twins, this pregnancy wasn't planned either but they liked it that way. Neither of them ever really planned things in advance, even the big things, and it seemed almost comforting to them. As they told their twins whenever the subject came up, they may have been unplanned but they were never unwanted. And that's how House and Anna saw their life. Well how Anna saw it anyway since House thought the whole thing was too cheesy. But still they all knew that he would secretly read the pregnancy books Anna bought in case anything had changed in the 5 years since she was last pregnant and would watch her like a hawk throughout so they didn't have a repeat of last time. And often he would find himself thinking about his future child. Even when it was still early on in the pregnancy and they hadn't started telling everyone yet it never stopped House's mind from wondering about the latest puzzle in his life. He was thinking about whether they would have a boy or a girl (since they already had one of each and House had driven everyone mad last time by not telling them the sex, Anna had put her foot down and said they wouldn't be finding out) and whether they'd have another baby the spitting image of him like Zach or whether they'd be Anna's double like Lily. He thought about whether they'd have all the characteristics of one of their parents or a mix like the twins. He thought about whether they'd perhaps be their mama's boy like Zach or their daddy's girl like Lily.

Yes if anyone would have told House or Anna that this is where their lives would end up, both would have bet every last cent they had that it wasn't true and House would have added some choice words in there too.

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><p><strong>Kind of a filler first chapter to introduce the story but it'll start up more next chapter. Please let me know what you think! :)<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

"Up and at 'em lazy bones," Anna exclaimed, too cheerily for House's liking.

"Go away," he groaned, burying his face deeper into the pillow.

"No can do. Since your case ran late, Lisa said it was okay for you to come in with me at 12. But it's already half 10 so you need to get a move on."

"Alright I'm getting up," he grumbled.

"Good. I better hear that shower running within the next 10 minutes or you will regret it."

House scowled as Anna sashayed out of their bedroom, obviously pleased with herself. His scowl changed into a small smile when she'd disappeared as he thought about how well she knew him and how well she took care of him and the kids, even when she was almost 6 months pregnant. But his smile turned back into a scowl when he heard her shout "Nine!" from the kitchen and he reluctantly climbed out of bed and into their adjoining bathroom to start his shower.

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><p>"Patient's an idiot," House whined as he slapped the file down at the nurses' station and gestured towards the clinic room he'd just left. None of the nurses paid him any attention, use to House's complaining about clinic duty. He'd only been in for just over 3 hours but he'd already gotten a new case and he was being forced to do clinic duty while his team ran tests. And clinic duty bored House to no end and a bored House was no fun for the people around him. But, luckily for everyone else, he was just about to get a whole lot less bored.<p>

"Daddy!" came a cheerful squeal from the hospital entrance as the red-headed little girl bolted at full speed towards her father.

She'd done it so many times before that Lily had mastered how to slow down just before reaching him and always collided into his left side instead of his right. She hugged him tightly around the waist before he hoisted her up onto the nurses' station and stood directly in front of her, blue on green eyes, his hands either side of her on the surface so she wouldn't fall.

"I missed you daddy," Lily said with all the seriousness of a 5 year old. "Mummy said you were working all yesterday and we weren't allowed to wake you this morning."

"That's because your mum is a pretty smart lady and knew I wouldn't be happy if you rugrats woke me up."

Lily giggled and looked smugly at her dad. "I'm telling mummy you called her pretty and smart."

"You little sneak! I'll just tell her I didn't."

"Nuh uh because that would be fibbing daddy and mummy says you're not allowed to fib."

"Can too."

"Can't."

"Can."

"Can't."

"Can."

"Kelly," Lily called to the nanny approaching them. "Doesn't mummy say you're not allowed to fib?"

Kelly looked between the pair and mentally weighed her options.

She'd been with the family for about 6 months, since the twins started school. With House's hours not always being 9 to 5 depending on his case, Kelly was hired to help with the school runs and provide some consistency. So, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays when Anna worked 8 to 2, Kelly would arrive in the mornings to take Zach and Lily to school and try to stay out of House's way as much as possible if he was around. Tuesdays and Thursdays she preferred more because Anna worked 12 to 6 so all she had to do was pick the kids up from school and deliver them to the hospital daycare. But sometimes one of the children, usually Lily, would spot their dad and Kelly would find herself in the awkward situation of choosing between agreeing with House, which normally meant agreeing with something wrong, or going against him and risking some kind of wrath.

Kelly took a breath and turned to the young girl. "Yes your mummy does say you shouldn't fib because it's not very nice to tell fibs."

"Does that mean daddy's not very nice?" Lily asked with a childlike innocence, looking up at the man she idolised.

House smirked and turned to Kelly to see how she'd get herself out of this one. Zach stood by his father's side and quietly observed the situation, fully aware that Lily was doing this to cause mischief.

"No that's not what I meant."

"But you said it's not nice to tell fibs and daddy tells fibs so that must mean you're saying daddy's not very nice."

"That's not what… I didn't mean… Your daddy…" Kelly looked between the three pairs of eyes staring at her, almost pleading one of them to help. It didn't take too long before Lily broke out laughing, her father and brother following suit.

"Nice work, Lil," House said. "You really had her. Although we really need you to work on not laughing as quickly and then we could've seen how flustered we could have gotten ole Kelly here."

"I should have known," Kelly sighed, once again falling victim to House's influence on his daughter. "Anyway, I should get you two up to your mum. She'll be waiting for us."

"Can we stay with you daddy?" Lily asked.

"Not this time, Lil. I have a case that only your genius old man can solve."

"Another one?"

House's heart sank a little at the sadness in his daughter's voice. He always felt guilty when he worked late and didn't see his children in the evening or the next morning like he had the previous day. And now he was going to have to pass up another opportunity to spend time with them.

"How about I take you up to your mum instead? And then I'll try to get my case done quickly so that I can pick you two rugrats up early and we can go home and surprise your mum with dinner. How does that sound?"

"Okay daddy," Lily cheered excitedly, bouncing slightly on the counter as Zach nodded below her.

"Come on then you two. I've got it from here, Kelly. That's if you think I'm nice enough to look after my own children."

"Goodbye Dr House," Kelly said bluntly. "I'll see you two tomorrow. Have a nice evening."

"Bye Kelly," the twins chorused.

"Alright then you two," House said, lifting Lily down and heading to the elevator with a twin on either side, Lily obviously holding on tightly to his hand. "Let's go find your mum. And remember, we're going to surprise her tonight so not a word."

Even after all these years, the staff still found it odd every time they saw the grumpy doctor with his children. The bouncing little girl, who clung tightly to her daddy's hand didn't fit with the limping doc, and the quiet boy who followed behind with the exact same features as his father wore them with much more kindness. Many still wondered what it was that made these charming young children worship someone like House.


	3. Chapter 3

**So this is the last whole chapter I've already got written hence the quick succession of the first 3 chapters. The next will probably be much slower updates. I'm also thinking of including more flashbacks in this story. Thoughts? Anyway, enjoy and please review so I know people are actually interested in this!**

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><p>"Daddy!" Lily squealed as House opened the front door later that evening. She pulled him over to the couch and climbed onto his lap. "We had to tell mummy about dinner because you weren't home."<p>

"I know and I'm sorry, Lil. My case went on longer than I thought it would."

"But daddy has managed to get home in time to put you two monkeys to bed," Anna said, entering the living room with Zach close behind her. "So why don't you two go get your pyjamas on and brush your teeth and then daddy can tuck you in?"

The two children quickly hurried off to get ready for bed as Anna turned and made her way back to the kitchen with House following behind her.

"There are some leftovers in the fridge if you're hungry," she said, not turning to look at him.

"Sorry my dinner plan didn't work out."

"It's not me you need to apologise to."

"Anna…" House started, having known something was up when he first saw her.

"I think you should let them sit in on your differential sometime."

"Why?"

"I think Zach and Lily need to see how important your job is."

"They know it's important because I save lives."

"Greg, our kids are really smart but they are still only 5. They know that daddy saves lives but they don't understand the puzzle bit or the time constraints. If they see you work then they might understand better why you have to work late."

"Anna…"

"All I'm saying is that those two worship the ground you walk on. When you tell them you are going to do something special for dinner, they get so excited and don't understand why it doesn't work out like that. I think it's important that they see what their dad does when he's not with them."

"You make it sound like I am deliberately not around! It's not like I choose to stay late on a case over coming home you know!" House said, obviously annoyed.

"Of course I know that Greg! But they don't!"

"Oh so you are saying my kids just think I prefer spending my nights at the hospital over being with them? Charming!"

"Daddy!" Lily's voice sounded from down the corridor.

"It seems like the children feel like I am neglecting them too. I should go to them before it seems like I'm picking something else over them."

"You know you're a real ass sometimes Greg."

"Only sometimes?" House sneered.

"Just go to our children," Anna sighed.

House watched her walk away before heading in the opposite direction down the corridor. Normally, when he was home in time, he and Anna would each go into one of the twins' rooms to say goodnight before switching but tonight House had to make do with just himself. He stuck his head around Zach's door to tell him he'd just be a minute before going into Lily's room to tuck her in.

"Sorry I had to tell mummy about dinner and ruin the surprise daddy," Lily said as she snuggled down in her bed.

"Don't worry about it. I'm sorry I wasn't able to be home for dinner like I said I would be."

"That's okay daddy. Mummy explained it to us."

"She did?" House asked, slightly nervous given their previous conversation. "What did she say?"

"That sometimes people are so ill that they need help right away and you are the only one that can help them. She said that you don't like being away from us but it's your job to make people better. Mummy said it's like when Superman has to immediately stop what he's doing when someone's in trouble. She said he may not always like doing it but it's his job to save people and it's not like he can just leave them. She said that Superman probably misses dinner too even when he really doesn't want to."

"Your mum said all that?"

Lily nodded her head vigorously before stopping and grinning widely. "Does that mean you're a superhero daddy?"

House didn't quite know how to answer that, still surprised at what a good job Anna had done at explaining his job. "I don't know. How about you and Zach come to work with me one day and you can see if you think my job makes me a superhero?"

"Really daddy? Can we?"

"If you promise to be really good then we'll see about it okay? But for right now you need to go to bed."

"Okay daddy. I love you."

"Ditto, kiddo."

Lily smiled at House's answer before getting herself settled and closing her eyes. It was the same response every time she or Zach told him they loved him. Despite how far he'd come over the years, House still found it hard to say those three words. Instead, he'd come up with his own response which his children understood the meaning of and it meant just as much to them as the actual thing, perhaps even more because it was reserved for just them.

House quietly left Lily's room, closing the door a little behind him and went into Zach's room opposite. The boy was reading quietly to himself but stopped when he saw his father. He gave House a small smile and they said their goodnights before Zach settled himself into bed and closed his eyes. House stayed by the door for a few moments, just taking it all in. While Zach looked like him and was like him in many ways, it had been hard for the father and son to really find any kind of common ground at first.

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><p>"<em>Hey Greg?" Anna started as she entered the living room. "Sarah's mum just called and said that one of the other mums who was going to be helping out can't make it because her other child is sick. So instead of just dropping Lily off, I said I'd stay to help out. That means it's going to be you and Zach for the afternoon."<em>

"_He's not going with you?"_

"_No it's Lily's friend Sarah's birthday party and it's just going to be a bunch of 3 and 4 year old girls running around the place. Not really a place that Zach will like."_

"_And you are staying the whole afternoon?"_

"_Yes and we really need to get going." Anna gestured to Lily who came bounding down the corridor in her party clothes with a present in hand._

"_Greg, don't look so worried," Anna said as they were walking out of the door. "I'm sure you and Zach will find something to do while we're gone." She paused then added, "Just don't make him watch sports or monster trucks again okay? He really doesn't like them. I'll see you in a couple of hours."_

_House said goodbye to Anna and Lily, shutting the door behind them and resting his head on the frame._

_He loved both of his children equally but he found it much easier to connect with Lily. She always told him exactly what she wanted to do and made it clear any time she didn't like something. But Zach? He just wanted to please his father even if it meant sitting through hours of TV that he couldn't stand and pretending to be interested in sports._

"_Where's mummy?" Zach asked from behind House._

"_She's gone to help out at the party Lily's gone to so it looks like it's just you and me for the afternoon, kid. What do you want to do?"_

_Zach was quiet as he thought of something to do with his father. "We could watch monster trucks?" he suggested softly._

"_We could," House dragged out, noting his son's brief disappointment when he agreed to this. "Or we could do something that you want to do. You know you don't have to like watching monster trucks, Zach. That's why I have Uncle Jimmy to watch them with. You don't have to like things just because I like them, or your mum does or Lily."_

_The young boy seemed to consider this for a moment before timidly asking _"_Daddy, is it okay that I don't like sports?"_

_House felt disappointed in himself that his son even had to ask. _"_Of course it is. I mean your mum gets bored at the mere mention of watching sports and it's not like I can really play them much. Like I said, you don't have to pretend to like something just because someone else likes it."_

_Zach seemed happy with this and gave his father a small nod and a shy smile._

"_So what would you like to do then? Anything you want."_

"_Anything?"_

_House knew that it was a safe bet to agree to this with Zach. It would have been a whole different story with Lily but Zach was always the more sensible, more reserved of the two._

"_Anything."_

_Again Zach was quiet as he thought about something that they could do. "Would you teach me the piano?" he asked, almost carefully._

"_You want to learn the piano?"_

"_I'd like to if it's okay with you?"_

"_Of course it's okay," House said, grinning._

_He made his way over to the piano and sat down on the stool, gesturing for Zach to follow and lifting him onto his good leg when he did. He positioned Zach's hands on the piano and put his own on top as they went through some basic scales. Zach listened intently and did exactly what was asked of him perfectly._

"_What made you want to learn the piano?" House asked after they'd been playing for at least an hour._

"_You always look so happy when you play and I saw you teaching mummy and you looked like you were having great fun. I thought maybe if I learnt then I'd be as happy as you are when I play and we'd have fun too."_

House smiled at the memory just like he had at his son's answer. Anna and Lily had returned to the two of them playing together and they'd enjoyed listening to it so much that they demanded more. From then on, House and Zach played the piano together at least once a week and both of them really enjoyed the time they had together.

He retreated from Zach's bedroom and made his way down the corridor to the living room where Anna had ended up.

"Do you remember when Lily went to that birthday party and I was left with Zach for the afternoon?"

"Yes," she replied, obviously still angry about earlier but curious as to where this was going. "It was when you first started playing the piano together."

"It was. And before that you'd always told me that we'd find our connection and I just had to be patient."

"What's your point, Greg?"

"That you always know the right thing when it comes to our kids and earlier was no exception."

"Wait did Greg House really just admit that someone else other than himself was right? We must alert the media!"

"You're so funny," House deadpanned. "Lily told me that you likened me to Superman."

"I would never have said it if I knew you were going to be such an ass to me later on."

"Yeah I'm sorry about that. I just hate seeing the disappointment in their faces when I miss something – again!"

"I know you do. But we just have to face the reality that some things will be missed and that's just the way life is. You make sure you are there for the big things and that's what counts."

"You're being awfully nice about this whole thing given you called me an ass – twice I might add."

"That's because I know you are going to make it up to me."

"Oh really? And how might I be doing that?"

"You are going to be on your best behaviour at dinner tomorrow night."

"What?"

"I invited Lisa over because I'm setting her up with someone. It'll be nice to have another couple around so we can double date."

"To double date, we would have to date in the first place but we don't exactly go out on dates."

"Yes and whose fault is that?"

"Before I continue, let me just ask: can I win this?"

"My magic 8 ball says 'Outlook not so good' so I'd quit while you are behind."


	4. Chapter 4

**So this chapter is double the length of my others but I wanted to have it all in one chapter and then I started going into details I hadn't expected to include. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it. I've literally just finished it and wanted to post it before I signed off for the night so apologies for any mistake and if it's very waffle-y. Let me know what you think!**

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><p>"Remind me again who's coming tonight?" House asked, entering the kitchen the following evening.<p>

"Lisa and Stephen."

"Who?"

"Lisa as in Lisa Cuddy our boss," Anna said laughing slightly as she moved quickly around the room, trying to get everything ready for their guests.

"I know who Lisa is. But who is this Stephen guy?"

"You've met Stephen before. I've known him for years and we were in the army together. I stayed with him that time between my deployments."

"You mean when you ran out on me?"

"Greg, that was almost 6 years ago. Please don't bring this up now."

"You're the one inviting him to _our_ house."

"Yes to set him up with someone! You're meant to be on your best behaviour tonight. You know to make up for yesterday?"

"Fine," House grumbled. "But..."

Anna sighed, stilling her movements. "Don't Greg. Not today. One of the girls at work didn't show so I had to do 8-6 and your kid apparently decided that meant it was the perfect time to practice their kung fu which was not helpful. Then Zach and Lily were upset because I hadn't picked them up from school and they hadn't seen me today which meant they got particularly clingy when I tried to drop them off with James and I had to just leave before they both started crying. That meant I had even less time to get ready for a dinner I thought I had all afternoon to prepare for. All I want is a nice Friday night dinner with friends which I don't think is too much to ask for. So unless something helpful is going to come out of that mouth of yours, keep it shut."

House opened his mouth to retort then thought better of it. "I'll check on dinner."

Anna just nodded with a small smile. "I'm going to quickly change before they get here."

House had never liked Stephen. He'd only met him a handful of times but he didn't like him. It wasn't jealousy - Greg House does _not _get jealous - but Stephen was the man Anna ran_ to_ when she ran _from _him. What kind of man would let another man's woman stay with him? House ignored the small voice telling him Anna wasn't his then and decided it definitely was _not _jealousy: it was mistrust. As he stirred the sauce, he decided he was going to have as little involvement with the man and the whole evening in general. He would be present but that was it.

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><p>"Best behaviour?" Anna asked, stopping just before she opened the door to their first guest.<p>

"You won't even recognise me," House replied, leaning against the wall. "Just open the door already will you? The quicker we start the quicker it will end."

She stuck her tongue out at him but opened the door all the same. The next thing House knew, Anna was being lifted in the air and two arms were wrapped tightly around her.

"Stephen! Put me down!" she squealed. House was about to intervene when Anna was set on the ground again. The pair broke apart only for Anna to pull him into a hug again. "I've missed you!"

"I've missed you too kid." When they separated, Stephen held her at arm's length and said, "Speaking of kids, look at you!"

"Oh no don't! I'm huge!"

"You're glowing."

"I look like a whale."

"You look amazing."

"And I'm just going to get bigger."

"And you're just going to get more stunning."

Anna glared at him but the doorbell rang before she could respond.

"Lisa, come in, come in."

"Sorry I'm late," Cuddy asked, handing her coat over to Stephen who had offered to hang it up with his.

"Nonsense, you're right on time. In fact, you can help me to decide if I should let Stephen stay."

"And why is that?"

"Because he's a liar."

"All I did," Stephen protested. "Was say how much pregnancy agrees with her. Some people accept compliments but other people act as if you've insulted them. I don't know."

Cuddy smiled at the pair's dramatics. "I hate to say it Anna but I have to agree with him."

"What? That's not fair!"

"You looking that good while pregnant is what's not fair. You make every woman in the hospital suitable jealous, myself included."

Just as Anna was about to protest again, Stephen beat her to it. "I can see people being jealous of Anna but you don't need to be one of them. Honestly Greg, I don't know how you get anything done with two such beautiful women in your life."

It took House a moment to realise Stephen was speaking to him but his delay went unnoticed by the other occupants. Anna was too busy jokingly berating Stephen while he and Cuddy were properly introduced. He did hear Anna ask him to get their guests drinks, something Stephen offered to assist in. Just as he was going into the kitchen, he caught the exchange between the two women:

"I like him."

"I told you you would."

"He's very charming."

"Yeah he's lovely."

"He's like the anti-House."

"Tell me about it!"

House sighed as the women laughed. Now there was another person Stephen had one over. This was going to be a long night.

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><p>"So Anna says you met Greg in Michigan?" Stephen asked as dessert was brought out later that evening.<p>

"Yeah. I was an undergraduate and met the infamous Greg House in the university bookstore."

"Have you stayed in touch all this time?"

"No we lost touch in Michigan and then met again when he was admitted to PPTH."

There was a slight still in the conversation after the reference to House's infarction but Stephen quickly got the conversation going again: "University of Michigan must be the place to meet people. That's where Anna and I met."

"Oh wow. I didn't know you went to Michigan, Anna."

"I didn't." At Cuddy's confused look, Anna continued: "I was in high school and went to visit the university as a prospective student. I accidentally ended up in one of Stephen's classes. After class, I asked him to clarify an answer he gave and we ended up getting into this really long debate."

"It lasted for hours," Stephen said, taking over telling the story. "We went for food on campus a couple hours in when we both got hungry and then got kicked out of there hours later when it was closing. So we ended up at mine where we kept on debating for hours until we both just passed out from exhaustion."

"We woke up in the morning with neither of us remembering what actually started the debate, went to get breakfast and have been friends ever since."

"That's a good story," Cuddy said, as they finished up their dessert. "So did you stay in touch after Michigan?"

"You could say that," Anna replied, laughing slightly.

Once again Cuddy looked confused so Stephen filled her in: "I was born in Texas but moved when I was a kid. I always knew that I would go back to Texas and join the army when I was done with school. Anna and I had grown really close in my final year at Michigan so there were a lot of discussions about what would happen."

"I'd never really thought about where I wanted to go. I just knew I wanted to go to into medicine eventually. Baylor College of Medicine is a good med school so I decided I would start at the University of Texas which wasn't far from the base and then apply to BCM after."

"So just under a year after we met, we moved to Texas together. I guess you could say that counts as staying in touch."

"Wow! Anna wouldn't you have only been 17?"

"When we met I was and Stephen was 22. We definitely had people trying to say it wasn't a good idea but I was 18 when we moved and it was our decision to make. I don't regret it."

"Neither do I," Stephen said, smiling.

"I have to ask because this is starting to sound almost like a love story: did you two date?"

House had been pretty quiet for most of the evening, only commenting when directly spoken to and tuning out most of the conversation as Cuddy and Stephen got to know each other with Anna's assistance. But he'd started paying a bit more attention when Anna and Stephen told the story of how they first met. And, like Cuddy, he couldn't help but think it was sounding like a story two lovers would tell. But surely not...?

"Yeah," Anna's voice replied, cutting through House's thoughts. She didn't seem shy or embarrassed about it and Stephen nodded his assent as well. "Not when we first moved to Texas though."

"It was 6 months after I think?" Stephen said, looking at Anna for confirmation.

"New Years Eve."

"Oh yeah! How could I forget? That was a fun night."

Unlike House, Cuddy didn't seem at all phased by the news. "How long were you together for?"

_"Please say a day or even just an hour!" _House thought.

"About a year," Anna replied.

_"WHAT?!" _House was definitely hanging on every word of this conversation now. So not only had Anna ran from him to another man but this man was her ex boyfriend?

"We didn't ever really 'break up' so it's hard to say for definite."

"So you two are still dating now?" Cuddy joked, the three of them laughing while House tried his best not to scream.

"Maybe!" Anna laughed. "We sort of just decided that we loved each other but we were not _in love _with each other. It was almost like one day we referred to each other as boyfriend/girlfriend and the next day we didn't. Nothing really changed other than that. We still lived together, we still went out for dinner and to the movies but we were no longer intimate."

"Did it not get awkward when one of you started dating someone else?"

"Not really," Stephen replied. "We didn't make a point of saying we used to date unless it came up because other people found it awkward but it never was for us."

"It just... worked," Anna said, shrugging.

* * *

><p>"Thanks for a great evening," Cuddy said hugging Anna and then stepping into the coat Stephen held open for her.<p>

"Yeah I had a really nice time," Stephen added, bending down to hug Anna who kissed his cheek.

"Well you are both welcome any time. It was nice to have some time with adults that isn't interrupted by children."

"And tomorrow do you want me to pick you and the kids up?"

"It's probably easier if we meet you there. They are really looking forward to it. They've missed their Uncle Stephen as much as I have." Anna smiled and then turned to Cuddy. "Lisa, if you're not busy tomorrow you're welcome to join us. I know the kids would love to see their Aunt Lisa too."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely," Stephen replied. "If you give me your address, I can pick you up on the way."

"Excellent. Well I look forward to seeing you both again tomorrow. Drive safely." Anna smiled as she closed the door, pleased with how the evening went. She found House sitting in the arm chair where they'd left him and flopped down on the couch opposite. "I think that was a very successful evening don't you think?"

"Oh yeah really successful," he sneered.

Anna was confused by his tone. "Okay I have no idea what's got you in a mood but can you just tell me so I can go to bed?"

"Why don't you ask lover boy?"

"You're mad that Stephen and I used to date?"

"You never told me!"

"You never asked! Any time I bring up Stephen, you change the subject. How was I meant to tell you?"

"Maybe when you ran to him?"

"Not this again. Greg, that was 6 years ago. Are you ever going to stop bringing it up?"

"Are you going to do it again?"

Anna stilled. That was not what she was expecting. "You think I'm going to leave you for Stephen?"

"Why not?" House shrugged, feigning indifference. "You agreed he was the anti-House: lovely, charming and not to mention he has two working legs! I saw your face when he lifted you up and I can't do that. And not to mention the kids would love it. You said yourself that they miss him and hell he can run after them and play games with them that I can't. Why would you not leave me for him?"

"I can't believe you are asking me that."

"And yet you can't even come up with an answer."

They stood in silence for a moment, Anna too hurt to say something and House too angry. Finally, Anna broke the silence:

"I'd like you to leave the room so I can go to sleep."

"What?"

"I don't hate you enough right now to make you sleep on the couch with your leg so I will."

"Why is anyone sleeping on the couch?"

"Because if we stay in the same room any longer, one or both of us will say something we'll regret."

House opened his mouth to comment but Anna turned to face the back of the couch, clearly showing she was done with the conversation. He sighed for what felt like the hundredth time that day, got up and began walking to the door. Just as he was about to leave, Anna's voice stopped him:

"You were right earlier when you said I wouldn't recognise you. This man is not the Greg House I love. That Greg House would never doubt me."


	5. Chapter 5

**This update is reasonably quick because I knew exactly what I was going to write and parts of it were already written. The next chapter may take awhile but I will do my best to get it up as quick as I can. In the meantime, enjoy and let me know what you think.**

* * *

><p>House awoke to the sound of movement in the room. He opened his eyes and watched as Anna gathered her things, unaware of her audience.<p>

"So are you going to spend the day avoiding me?"

His voice startled her and she took a deep breath before turning to face him.

"I'd already planned to take the kids out."

"With _him_?"

"Yes with Stephen and Lisa will be there too."

"I don't like you seeing him."

"That's a shame," she said calmly, deliberately not rising to it.

"Anna you are going out with your ex-boyfriend, someone you failed to mention you had a relationship with until last night! I'm allowed to be angry."

"No you're not."

"Oh really?" House scoffed. "And why not?"

"Because then you'd be a hypocrite."

"What are you talking about?"

"Were you ever going to tell me that you and Lisa used to be a thing?"

"Who told you?"

"Evidently not you."

"That was a long time ago."

"What you mean like Stephen and I were?"

"It's different."

"Yeah you're right it is. I see Stephen maybe 2 or 3 times a year whereas you see Lisa everyday. Did you know there are pools at the hospital about the two of you? They are really interesting ones too. You've got the people who don't know about me who think the two of you are sleeping together and have been having a secret love affair for years. And then you've got the ones who do know about me and think you and Lisa are having an affair. Apparently all your arguing at the hospital is just foreplay."

"Anna..."

"No don't. Look maybe I should have tried harder to tell you about Stephen and I but I don't see my ex everyday and have people starting rumours about us that my actual partner has to hear about on a daily basis. Do you know how not fun it is to hear people making comments about your boyfriend's supposed sex life with another woman? So no. I'm sorry but you don't get to be angry about this. I'll see you later."

House fell back against his pillow and screwed his eyes shut as he heard the door close behind Anna. He'd been convinced he was in the right about this. Anna should have told him about Stephen. But then she was right. He never told her about Lisa and he definitely had never tried to, actively avoiding conversations where it might have come up. He did know one thing for certain though: whoever was in charge of the pools would regret the day they ever got involved with House.

* * *

><p>House awoke again a few hours later to hear the TV playing downstairs. He climbed out of bed, hoping that Anna had returned and he could talk to her but instead found Wilson sat on the couch.<p>

"What are you doing here?"

"Given Anna's mood when I dropped the kids off this morning I figured yours wouldn't be much better. I thought leaving you on your own to stew would probably not be good for anyone. So are you going to tell me what happened?"

House sighed and flopped down in the arm chair. "Anna's friend Stephen was round for dinner last night with Cuddy because Anna's apparently trying to set the two of them up."

"Yeah..." Wilson said, urging House to continue.

"And Stephen and Anna used to date."

"Yeah..."

"Wait you're not surprised?"

"I knew that."

"You did?"

"You didn't?"

"No I didn't! How did you know?"

"I asked Anna."

"When?"

"Around the time before you started dating when you fell out and she went to stay with him."

"You've known for 6 years?"

"Yeah I was asking her how the two of them met and it just came out in the story."

"She just told you?"

"I don't think it's that big of a deal if that's what you are asking. They genuinely are just friends now. Kind of like you and Cuddy."

"You know about Cuddy and I too?!"

"The whole hospital knows about you and Cuddy. There are pools on it."

"So I've heard."

"I think the only one who doesn't know about the pools is Cuddy because she probably would have started firing people if she knew."

"Well I'm going to make them wish Cuddy had fired them when I find out who started it."

They were both quiet for a moment before Wilson spoke:

"House, going back to last night, is this whole thing about the fact you didn't know they used to date?"

"I thought I had the moral high ground," House said softly. "She didn't tell me and she should have. But I never told her about Cuddy either. And some of the rumours she has to listen to at the hospital, I would've punched someone by now. I would have at least confronted Anna a long time ago to ask if they were true."

"No you wouldn't have."

"How do you know?"

"For the same reason Anna never confronted you about them. She trusts you and knows that you would never do something like that to her. You trust each other."

House groaned, rubbing his hand over his face. "I asked her."

"What?"

"I asked her if she was going to leave me for him. I basically told her that she had no reason to stay with me when she had him."

Wilson shook his head. "You're an idiot."

"Yeah I know."

* * *

><p>By the time Anna returned in the afternoon, Wilson had gone and House had come up with at least 5 different ways to make whoever came up with the pools pay for the rumours Anna had had to listen to. She moved through the house to the kitchen without really acknowledging his presence and began pulling out the makings of a sandwich.<p>

"Aren't you meant to have two small versions of us with you?" House asked, sitting down at the table and studying her carefully to gage her mood.

"Stephen and Lisa have got them and are taking them to dinner and are going to drop them back later. I didn't know if you'd be in and one of the ER doctors has gone home sick so I got asked to cover his shift. I'm just going to make a snack then go."

"Anything to avoid talking to me?"

"What's there to talk about? We're fine."

House scoffed.

Anna stopped her movements and looked directly at him. "Do you love me?"

"What?"

"Do you love me?"

"Yes."

"Do you love our children?"

"Of course."

"Do you know that we love you?"

"Yes."

"Are you planning on cheating on me or leaving us?"

"Anna…"

"Yes or no, Greg," she said firmly.

"No."

"Do you think I'm going to cheat on you or leave you?"

"No."

"Then we are fine."

"But…"

"Stephen and I have history and yes we used to be a thing and yes there are things he knows about me that you don't. But you and Lisa have history, you used to be a thing, there are things that she knows that I don't and you see her every day. I _love_ Stephen because he's one of my closest friends but I am _in love_ with you. Are you in love with Lisa and planning on running off into the sunset with her?"

"No."

"Then you need to trust that I'm not going to do the same with Stephen."

"That's it?"

"That's it." She paused before continuing: "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about it but I didn't see it as that big of a deal and since James knew I thought maybe you knew anyway. The relationship Stephen and I had was one born out of friendship rather than attraction and sometimes I even forget we dated because very little changed after we split. What you see now is basically the relationship we had. We hung out, enjoyed each other's company, bantered, wound each other up, made sarcastic comments and played tricks on each other. It was always more of a friendship than a relationship anyway."

"Haven't you just described our relationship?"

"Yeah I guess..." House was about to interrupt but Anna continued as she moved closer to him. "But that's just one layer of our relationship. There's attraction too. At least on my part there is."

"On both parts."

"Even when I'm the size of a house?"

House smiled, pulling her down to sit on his good leg and resting his head on her shoulder. "Always."

"Greg?"

"Hmm?"

"You know I wouldn't love you anymore even if you had two good legs right?" She felt him stiffen so continued. "Yesterday you said you saw my face when Stephen picked me up. That was to do with the fact that I hadn't seen him in months. I couldn't care less if he'd picked me up, I was excited to see him. But it wasn't just yesterday. I've seen the way you look at Wilson, Foreman, Chase and pretty much every one you see with two working legs and you think they are so much better than you. But they aren't. Your leg is part of who you are whether you like it or not. The kids and I love you for exactly who you are."

"But I would be better with two working legs," he mumbled against her shoulder/

"Would Lily be better if she wasn't deaf?"

"What? No! Of course not!"

"Don't you see? It's the same thing. We don't care about the things you can't do. We care about the things you can do. Please trust me on that."

House stayed silent, taking in what Anna had said. He'd never really compared his handicap to his daughter's. If he was feeling inadequate, does that mean Lily did too? And if he outright said he wasn't as good, what message was that giving to her?

"I've got to get to the ER. The kids will be dropped off in a couple of hours. I will be back late so don't bother waiting up. I'll see you tomorrow."

Just as she was about to get up, House's grip tightened slightly.

"I do trust you," he said softly into her hair. "I'm sorry I made you doubt that."

"Thank you," she whispered. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Stephen."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Lisa and that you have to listen to the rumours."

She lifted his chin so he was looking into her eyes. "Never for a second did I believe them. I trust you with our children and I trust you with my heart."

"That was really cheesy!"

"You know how to ruin the moment don't you?" Anna laughed. "Now I really have to go. Make sure the kids don't stay up too late."

"Yes dear."

"And make sure they brush their teeth."

"Yes dear."

"And make sure you do the washing."

"Yes... Hey!"

Anna's laugh echoed down the corridor as she left.

* * *

><p>Late that night found House sat up in bed with a book, waiting for Anna to return. She waited up enough for him that he figured he could return the favour. But he wasn't having much luck at focusing on the words in front of him, instead thinking about his kids that evening.<p>

_"Daddy!" Lily screamed the second he opened the door. She launched herself at him and it took House a minute to realise that he hadn't spent much time with his kids the past couple of days._

_"Hey kiddo. Did you two have fun?"_

_"It was brilliant!"_

_As he listen to the twins describe in detail everything they did, even Zach getting more animated as they spoke, House found it harder to dislike Stephen. All he's done is love Anna and the kids and it's hard not to, he thought. Maybe he's not so bad._

_"I was talking about sports with Stephen, daddy, and he said it was your job to teach me," Zach said, interrupting House's thoughts._

_"What?"_

_Just before House could send death glares his way, Stephen continued: "We decided that football and baseball and sports like that weren't really Zach's thing. I thought mini-golf might be a good idea. It doesn't involving running and isn't a contact sport which Zach isn't fond of. I hope you don't mind that I suggested you taught him how to play."_

_House stayed silent for a moment. It was obvious what Stephen had done. While Zach may not like running or contact sports anyway, there was no way House would have been able to teach him those. But mini-golf? Now that was a sport he could do with his son._

_"Well it is a father's job to teach his son how to play sports so I _suppose _I could..."_

_"Yay!" Zach cheered, hugging his father tightly round the middle. Above his head, House made eye contact with a smiling Stephen and offered him a small smile in return._

The door to the bedroom opened, interrupting House's memory. Anna came in looking exhausted and it took a minute for her to register that House was sat up in bed, awake and was watching her.

"What are you still doing up?"

"I was waiting for you." He watched as she changed out of her clothes and didn't bother finding her usual pyjamas but instead just slipped on his discarded tshirt and fell into bed. "Are you alright?"

"Hmm?"

"I asked if you were alright?"

She rolled over so she was facing him. "I don't know. Something happened tonight."


	6. Chapter 6

**I am uploading quite quickly at the moment it seems but I'll probably slow down soon as work picks up again. I promise this story will get finished though - eventually! Remember to let me know what you think :)**

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><p><em>"Dr Casey?"<em>

_Anna put down the magazine she was reading and turned to the nurse next to her, welcoming the distraction. The ER hadn't been that busy and she wanted nothing more than to go home. While she and House were on better terms than they were that morning, she was still concerned they'd merely swept the issue under the carpet rather than completely resolving it. She had hoped they'd be a bit busier so time would pass quicker and she could get home sooner. But she knew better than to say that outloud in case she jinxed it..._

_"Someone said you were with Dr Cuddy earlier and we can't reach her. Do you know where she might be?"_

_"She was taking my kids to dinner and not many of those places have good cell service. Why do you need her?"_

_"A girl came in earlier this evening insisting that her sister worked here and demanding we find her. The problem is we don't have anyone by the name and she's refusing to leave. She's locked herself in one of the empty clinic rooms and we're not sure what to do."_

_"Okay," Anna started. She racked her brain trying to come up with a solution that wouldn't interrupt Cuddy's Saturday night. "Have you checked the employee database? Maybe it's someone's name before they got married or an ex-married name? Search that and see if you can find anyone who matches the name."_

_"That's a start. But what about the girl?"_

_"Urm..."_

_"Why don't you try talking to her? You've lived with House so long you must have picked up a few tips on dealing with difficult characters."_

_Anna laughed. "I can't promise anything but I can try."_

_The nurse nodded and lead her towards the clinic, pointing at one of the closed doors that had security outside._

_"Dr Casey is going to try talking to her and I'll have another look to see if we can find this sister."_

_"What can you tell me about her?" Anna asked._

_"Not much," the security guard shrugged. "She wouldn't tell us her name and she stopped talking altogether a couple of minutes ago. She looked about 13/14. Too young to be out on her own anyway. She's was just shouting for her sister."_

_"Okay. Could you maybe move away from the door a bit? She's probably scared and it'd be better if there weren't security guards outside the room."_

_They nodded and moved to the clinic waiting room, still keeping an eye on the door. Anna looked at the door, still not entirely sure what to do._

_She knocked lightly and sighed when she was met with silence on the other side. Unable to remain standing for too long these days, she sank to the floor, leaning with her back against the door and started speaking softly but still loud enough for the girl to hear:_

_"The security guards have moved away so it's just me here now. My name's Anna. Can you tell me yours?" Silence. "Okay that's alright. I've been told you're about 13/14. Is that right?" Silence. "I remember being that age even though it seems so long ago now."_

_She continued talking for another 10 minutes until the nurse from earlier approached. Anna told the girl she'd be back in a minute and got up to stand with the nurse and the security guards._

_"Did you manage to find her sister?"_

_"I searched the database," the nurse began slowly. "And we do have an employee who matches the name."_

_"Well?" Anna stressed. "Who is it?"_

_"You."_

* * *

><p>House stared at Anna as she finished retelling the story of her evening.<p>

"I don't understand."

"She came in asking for Annabel Jones."

"Jones?" He paused. "Your father's surname."

"Yeah. No one in the hospital has ever known me by that name. I changed to my mother's surname when I left home and have been Annabel Casey for over 20 years."

"How did they manage to link you to the name then?"

"It's my birth name so it's in my file."

There was a long pause as House digested the information and Anna continued to try to get her head around the events of that evening.

"So you have a sister?"

"Apparently so."

"Did you have any idea she existed?"

"No. I've not had any contact with my father since I left home. He could have had a hundred kids since then for all I know."

"How did she find you?"

"I don't know. The only person I kept in contact with was my grandfather but he died years ago."

Silence fell on the pair once more. They remained lying on their sides, facing each other but neither were really focused on the other. Just taking in all that had been said.

"What's she like?"

"Hmm?"

"You've not told me anything about her."

"I don't really know much," Anna confessed. "She heard the nurse say it was me which got her to open the door but that was it. I don't know if she actually expected to find me because she just stood in shock then handed me a piece of paper and ran off."

"What was on the piece of paper?"

"It had a number on it and a name: Tash."

"What are you going to do?"

"I don't know."

House just nodded, pulling her closer. While both tried to get some sleep, only he was successful and Anna lay awake, replaying everything over and over.

* * *

><p>Anna eventually fell asleep around 5am from sheer exhaustion and woke up several hours later. She turned over in bed, surprised to find House's side empty except for a note.<p>

_Got called in for a case. Taken the spawn to see what superman does. Call you later. P.S. I started the pro/con list we both know you'll end up doing._

She chuckled at his very brief note. She turned the piece of paper and sure enough he had already drawn up a pro/con list for her with just one thing written in the pro column.

* * *

><p>"Hey," Anna said into the phone that afternoon. "You were meant to call me."<p>

"In my defence, I said I would call you later. I never specified a time."

"Sure," she said and House could practically hear her rolling her eyes. "How's the case going?"

"We're getting there. The ducklings are off running tests and the spawn are probably annoying them with all their questions."

"So they are enjoying watching their dad work?"

"Of course. I'm a superhero I'll have you know."

She laughed. "So I've heard."

House grew more serious, closing the door to his office in case anyone should walk past and listen. "How's the list going?"

"I've been adding to it all day and there's almost twice as many cons. Her presence alone is going to link me back to my old life, my father and everything I ran from."

"Okay I get that. Still I can hear the 'but' in your voice."

"No matter how many cons I write down, I still go back to the pro you wrote: she's family. I may despise the man that links us but I can't blame her for that. I owe her a chance at least."

"You don't owe anybody anything and you don't have to do anything you don't want to do. But we both know you were always going to end up calling her. Family has always come first to you."

"Speaking of..."

"Uh oh."

"No not 'uh oh'. I spoke to Lisa earlier to fill her in on what happened so she wouldn't get blindsided in the morning. She said because you're working today, you don't need to be in tomorrow unless you get a case. That's provided this one is finished up. She also said because I did the ER shift, she'll get someone to cover for me tomorrow."

"That seems awfully nice of her."

"I think she was using it as an excuse to give me time to think about everything."

"Maybe but still we've both got the day off tomorrow."

"We have. I don't remember the last time we had the whole day to ourselves with no kids."

"If only we could think of something to do!" House said and Anna could picture him wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"Actually I had an idea I wanted to run past you. It doesn't involve sleeping..."

"I like the way this is going..."

"It involves talking."

"Not really what I had in mind."

"I know. But I've been doing a lot of thinking today and we never got to properly talk about Friday night."

He groaned. "I thought we'd sorted that. I apologised, you apologised, we're done."

"I know but I don't want it to be something that we just ended because we didn't want to fight anymore. I want it to be properly resolved and I don't think it was."

"Fine. So you want to talk?"

"Do you remember when I told you I was pregnant the first time and you went to Wilson's? Do you remember what we did when you came back?"

His reply was soft: "We stayed up the whole night, just talking."

She smiled, talking in the same whisper as him: "We talked about anything and everything. It helped then and I think it will help now. We can ask each other questions and not stop until both of us are completely happy. What do you think?"

He paused. "Okay."

"Really?"

"Why not? Besides, Kelly will take the kids to school in the morning and then we have the rest of the day to do my suggestion."

Anna laughed. "It's a deal. You're really okay with this?"

He nodded even though she couldn't see him. "Yeah. I have a feeling a lot of stuff from the past will be dredged up in the coming weeks so we may as well resolve everything we can now."

She sighed, already thinking about everything from both of their pasts. "It's going to be a long talk."

"We've got time."

They smiled and said their goodbyes. As they hung up the phone, both were surprised to feel almost excited about their upcoming talk.


End file.
